Antikythera Shipwreck: Major Underwater Archaeological Expedition

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Antikythera Shipwreck

The Antikythera shipwreck prompted the world’s first ever major underwater archaeological expedition.  The Antikythera wreck is a Roman shipwreck dating from the 2nd quarter of the 1st century BC.  In October 1900, the wreck was discovered by sponge divers off Point Glyphadia on the Greek island of Antikythera.

After divers discovered the shipwreck the Archaeological Service of Greece launched the expedition.  However, they were unsuccessful in recovering the most significant part of the cargo, and it wasn’t until 1976 that another team recovered the Antikythera mechanism.  This “mechanism” is believed to be the world’s oldest analog computer.

Though the ship carried many treasures, this piece has received so much attention from the media that few are aware of Antikythera’s other wondrous treasures, which include pottery, glassware, jewelry, statues, coins and copper couch beds.

The Statue of Youth is one of the ship’s most remarkable recovered statues.  The classical bronze statue dates back to sometime between 340 and 330 B.C. and is on display, along with the rest of the artifacts, at the Archaeological Museum in Greece.

Source: Wikipedia